Hi John316 yes,
NIV Romans 1:21-32
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
This verse tells us that those people (Jews) knew God but they still decided to reject God and because they rejected God they were given by God to the lust of their flesh. God did not force them to come back to Him because these people does not want to come back to him.
Romans 2:4-5
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
God's LOVE ( Tolerance, kindness and patience ) should lead them to repentance but because of their stubborn heart they chose not to repent.
God's love should lead a person to repentance but only if the person does not have a stubborn heart.
You wrote
Yes, I believe that Jesus will come looking for me when I wander away from him and he will lovingly bring me back. He always does. (I agree)
"The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want ... he makes me lie down in green pastures he leads me beside the still waters even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil your rod and staff comfort me( I agree )
Yes, I choose to do this ,but it is the Power of God working in me that convinces me to come back. ( I agree )
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What everybody's hang up ? It is the fact that you cant get pass free will.
( Even Adam and Eve exercised their Free will
Free will is one of the Major reason we are here in this world. What I mean is that if Adam and Eve did not have Free will we will still be in the Garden of Eden.
[ King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.]
Somebody who has not been reconciled to God is an enemy of God and will not choose to follow God he will never will as Paul says,
Romans 5:10 King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
( Actually according to Paul everyone has been reconciled to God through Christ
God has opened the door of his kingdom to everyone who chooses to accept the gift of Christ which is Salvation and therefore everyone can now come to God through faith in Christ If they want.
Even if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are being destroyed for the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them form seeing the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ who is the image of God."
2 Corinthian 4:3-4 The New King James Version.
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them
According to Paul that people are perishing because the god of this world ( Satan ) blinded their minds and because of this they could not see the Gospel ( Truth). The Gospel (Truth) is veiled to them ( those who are perishing ) because their minds are blind. According to this verse God is not the reason as to why the Gospel is veiled to them but Satan. Also take note that the word is PERISHING which is a present participle which means that there is a continuation from present and possibly to the future but this does not mean that the "Perishing" has no end. There can be an end to the "Perishing" once the person who is perishing is introduced to the LIGHT (GOSPEL) and when this happen their mind will be enlightened and the veil to the gospel will be removed. If they have been introduced to the Gospel but refused to accept it then their mind will also be blinded by Satan but again because the Holy Spirit is continuously convicting us of our sins because God wants us to come back to him then the blinded minds can once again see the light that is if they chose to come back to God.
But Person who is in Christ is lead by the Spirit and will always come back. (As you said that the person who is IN Christ will always come back, I agree but the person who is NOT IN Christ will Not always come back. He May still come back IF he chooses .)
